1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display panel and a display device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a display panel and a display device, suitably used in an irregularly-shaped display panel such as an in-car instrumental panel, a car navigation system, a display device for amusement equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
A display device provided with a thinner display panel has been widely spread as a display device used in a TV, a personal computer, and a mobile phone. A liquid crystal display panel, a plasma display panel (hereinafter, also referred to as a “PDP”) and the like may be mentioned as a display panel in current practical use. Further, a panel for an organic electroluminescence device (hereinafter, also referred to as an “organic EL display”) may be mentioned as a display panel actively studied with an aim of the future diffusion thereof.
Although various displays are provided as thus described, shapes of the display regions are almost in common. Namely, the display panel generally has a substantially-rectangular or substantially-square display region. However, there are increasing expectations for irregularly-shaped display panels with display regions having various planer shapes other than the substantially-rectangular and substantially-square shapes, such as a curved contour and an oblique contour, with an aim of improving the design. Such an irregularly-shaped display panel is to be used as a display panel in an in-car instrumental panel, a display device for amusement equipment, or the like.
There is little disclosure of the art relating to such an irregularly-shaped panel. However, a liquid crystal display is disclosed, on which a liquid crystal panel having an elliptical or circular display area (display region) which has satisfactory color balance and is easily viewable is provided (see Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2006-276580). The liquid crystal display is provided with: a liquid crystal panel, in which a liquid crystal layer is formed between a first substrate and a second substrate; and a housing for housing the liquid crystal panel. The first substrate is provided with a color filter layer and an opposed electrode. The second substrate is provided with a plurality of pixel electrodes. The housing has an aperture for exposing the display area of the liquid crystal panel. The display region of the liquid crystal panel is substantially formed in an elliptical or circular shape, and the color filter layer formed on the first substrate is formed in substantially the same shape as that of the display area.
In the liquid crystal display device disclosed in Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2006-276580, the pixel on the boundary has an elliptical or circular aperture shape, and therefore, it is not easy at all to design and produce such a device. Namely, it is very hard to achieve such a configuration. If the aperture ratio of the pixel on the boundary is significantly adjusted in the configuration illustrated in FIG. 6 of Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2006-276580, namely, if the aperture ratio thereof is greatly different especially from the aperture ratio of a main pixel, the appearance of the display region may be deteriorated. In addition, each pixel located on the boundary between the display region and the frame region does not always include all of the sub-pixels to be included in a pixel, and therefore, it is hard to adjust the aperture ratio of each pixel on the boundary. Further, in the configurations illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 8 of Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2006-276580, the boundary of the display region tends to be rough especially in the case of a monochrome display, and the appearance of the display is deteriorated.